Zoro the otter
by mustangisinflames
Summary: A series of drabbles from prompts on my tumblr following the adventures and antics of the Strawhats (canon verse) when their swordsman somehow gets turned into an otter. I'm accepting prompts. Rated mainly for the language.
1. Zoro the otter

**This is a thing kellermarie (mugiwaramarimo) gave me an Iidea for a while back. I am taking prompts for this on here and on my tumblr. They're just some short, fun drabbles, following the Strawhats after Roronoa Zoro was somehow turned into an otter.**

* * *

Zoro butted at his swords, bumping at them with his nose as he shunted them, one by one, along the ground. His haramaki was gone, quite literally. It had vanished the moment he'd puffed up in blue smoke and this had happened. He chattered his teeth in irritation at his current predicament. That being that he had only so many hours of daylight left and a lot of ground to cover whilst shoving his katana one at a time in front of him. His legs ached and his nose throbbed from mushing his face up against the hilts over and over but, in retrospect, that was the least of his worries.

It had become very apparent to him that he was no longer Roronoa Zoro, ex-pirate hunter, Demon of East Blue, and renowned and feared swordsman of the Santoryuu style. But, rather, Roronoa Zoro, the very tired sword fighter with a very sore nose. Oh, and the fact that he was an otter.

Yes. An otter. He was the full works with a long lithe body, floppy rounded ears, whiskery cheeks, a small dark eye, short stumpy legs with pudgy paws and a long, broad tail that simply insisted on wiggling despite his willing it not only hints that he had ever been his original self were the array of battle scars most predominantly on his chest, left eye, and the thick ankles of his stubby back legs, combine with the odd tuft of garishly green fur on top of his little head. The only way one would know that this was indeed Roronoa Zoro was if they looked long and hard. His abdominal muscles which were once firm and neatly cut were replaced by a soft and chubby belly with thick fur and all his limbs were dumpy and nowhere near as powerful as their predecessors.

He tried to sigh but it came out as a sad whine which irritated him greatly and turned into an indignant squeak that sounded more cute than annoyed. He internally refused to make anymore noises and continued diligently nosing his weapons which were three times the size of him now ahead of him. He had tried to drag them along in his mouth and paws but Wado's handle was too large to fit in his jaws comfortably and he couldn't quite get the toes of his paws to hold the other two just right. Nose bumping, though painful, proved an easier method of transport.

He was heading for the Sunny. It was only logical. Hopefully Chopper had some cure for whatever kind of witchcraft hoodoo had happened to him and he'd be back in his normal body in no time. There was nothing Chopper couldn't cure, he was certain.

He chirped unhappily. For some reason, he was craving water right now. To feel it soak in his fur and push against his little webbed toes. He wanted to submerge his face in it and dive down into the depths. He didn't just want water, he needed it.

Oh boy, the shitty cook was going to have a field trip out of this one. He chattered his teeth angrily at the thought of having to listen to the stupid blond's stupid insults and not have a voice of his own to talk back in.

He flared his nose at the thought, wrinkling his snout. Stupid cook. Chopper had better be able to cure this.


	2. Is it possible to drown an otter?

**_Prompt: from kellermarie who wanted Sanji to be stuck with looking after Zoro. And, of course, Zoro is being difficult._**

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Getting used to an otter in place of the shitty mosshead was very difficult for Sanji. His snide remarks didn't matter now that Zoro couldn't snap back and the blond felt a little more than stupid at the notion of being seen arguing with an otter.

Luffy had almost killed Zoro twice in his bone crushing hugs and was now avoided at all costs by the little otter swordsman. Chopper had yet to find a cure but at least he could understand Zoro to some extent. Sanji and the rest of the crew who couldn't speak otter had come to recognise body language as a means of Zoro conveying his emotions. If his ears were flattened back against his head he was startled, if his snout was wrinkled and his front teeth bared then he was angry, and if he wriggled his nose and ears and swapped from foot to foot then he was curious.

Sanji was very familiar with the anger signs and was currently facing it now. The beautiful Robin had suggested that Zoro go swimming in the aquarium to get a feel for that environment which he was now designed for and the ever lovely Nami had ordered him to take Zoro there because only him and Luffy were nearby and she didn't trust the rubber idiot not to nearly kill him again. The only problem was that Zoro was an indignant, vicious little bastard rat with a bite that surprisingly hurt. A lot.

He'd already sunk those teeth into the cook's wrist with a shrill squeak and smacked at the blond's ankles with his tail that was heavy and shockingly powerful. So now Sanji was crouched with a pair of old oven mitts on, facing a hissing marimo otter which he had backed into the corner of the aquarium room.

"I thought otters were supposed to like swimming!"

Zoro chattered his bared teeth at Sanji and thumped his tail on the wooden dived, ignoring the shrieks of outrage as his mitt cladded hand closed around a long chubby and warm body. He held Zoro out away from him to avoid the claws and little teeth. Zoro squealed and spat and wriggled left, right, and centre but the blond's grip was relentless as he carried the struggling otter to the top of the tank.

"Come on, shitty marimo rat. You might like it once you try it." He encouraged.

Zoro clawed furiously at the mitt.

Sanji sighed before nonchalantly throwing Zoro in. The otter squeaked in surprise before splashing face first into the water and submerging ungracefully. This otter was Zoro alright. No other otter could be so shit at the thing it was designed to do.

Suddenly Zoro's head popped up over the surface and the little otter floated up onto his back, front legs folded over his heaving little scarred chest and belly.

"See?" Sanji said, "Not so bad."

Zoro chattered, this time quite happily as he sloshed his tail around and snuffled a little.

"No reason to be such a whiny little baby about-" Sanji spluttered as a spurt of water hit him in the face. He coughed and wiped the droplets from his eyelashes to see Zoro chattering happily to himself with a wicked gleam in his one eye. Sanji didn't know otters could even look wicked, but Zoro managed to pull it off very well.

"Did you just-?"

His unasked question was answered when Zoro flicked his tail and another wave of water slapped up Sanji's face and drenched his shirt. The blond grit his teeth as Zoro chirped in what suspiciously sounded like laughter.

Was it possible to drown an otter?


	3. Not so cuddly otter

**_Prompt: From shaetil who wanted some otter! Zoro sleeping with a member of the crew and Sanji somehow getting bit again._**

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When the wicker basket was put down on the floor, Zoro's first reaction was to give Nami an incredulous look. She glared right back at him, "I spent money on this. Don't make me add it to your debt."

Zoro huffed. He guessed it was his fault that Nami was cross with him. After all, he was the one refusing to sleep in the aquarium. Despite Chopper's insisting that otters slept on their backs in water, Zoro refused to accept it. Water was nowhere near as comfortable as his hammock.

But then Nami had bought this. A cat basket. He was an otter, not a cat! He would've voiced his complaint if 1, he could speak, and 2, if Nami wasn't glaring at him as though she wanted to splatter him into the deck with her heeled sandals.

Slowly, Zoro slunk into the basket and lay down flat against the plush cushion, pressing his head down into it and looking up at the navigator with one brown eye. Nami grumbled something in approval before leaving the men's bunk room and allowing the other guys in.

Sanji snorted slightly at the sight of their once former swordsman in a cat basket as he walked past, lifting his leg a little higher than necessary to avoid the chubby paw with its claws that swatted at him from over the side of the wicker basket. Luffy said that he thought the basket looked cool and that Zoro looked like a pet now and how great that was because Luffy had always wanted a pet. Usopp told Luffy to shut up, Franky promised to build him a better bed if he'd like one and Brook said nothing because he had first watch. Chopper asked him if he was okay to which he squeaked pathetically, earning him a soft look at a pat on the head which he immediately tried to brush off because no way in hell did Zoro like being petted. Even if it did feel nice...

It was rather late into the night that Zoro woke up. There was a shaft of cold air rushing at him from under the door and bit through his fur. It wasn't as if he had any blankets to hide under so he decided to look for heat elsewhere.

Sleep disoriented, the little otter staggered across the floor to one of the lower down hammocks which he perceived to be Chopper's if his memory served him correctly. He hooked on with the toes of his front paws and dragged himself into the netting of the hammock with a few grunts of exertion. He missed his old body, it was far more powerful and trained than this pudgy, chubby, feeble excuse for a body.

Crawling up along the blankets, Zoro swore Chopper seemed much taller than he remembered, but that was probably because Zoro was tiny now in comparison. He scuttled up to the base of the pillow and curled up in what he assumed to be where Chopper's neck and shoulder met with the blanket. The reindeer was extremely warm and the heat was a welcome blessing. Closing his eye, Zoro curled in tighter and fell asleep.

Sanji was tensed as he felt the furry body of the marimo otter push into him. What the hell was Zoro doing? Had the shitty hairball come to assassinate him in the night?

He felt the otter's long thick tail flop out and land on his collarbone and chest, wriggling slightly in very slow movements.

Slowly, the cook turned his head.

Zoro was curled up and snoozing gently, his body pushed firmly into Sanji's. He looked over the pudgy features and the fur that looked soft and tempting. Very carefully, Sanji ran his fingertips through it.

The otter wriggled his ears and uncurled more and more the closer Sanji got to touching the downy fluff of his belly. Pausing a moment, Sanji made sure the other wasn't going to wake up before curiously stroking the little animal's tummy.

Zoro stretched out completely with a strange little chirp and his working eye opened blearily. Sanji froze at being caught before being confused as Zoro met Sanji's turned face and rubbed his nose against the blond's.

Sanji had never seen anything so tender come from the normally stoic idiot and especially something tender directed at him of all people. Zoro chattered his teeth groggily, blinking a few times before he woke up completely to find him and the shitty cook nose to nose with Sanji's fingers brushing at his belly.

'WHAT THE HELL?!' Zoro would've screamed but as an otter, the closest he could get was a shrill screech that sounded a lot like,

"EEEEEAAAAAAKKKKKKK!"

Sanji winced against the noise, "Agh! What the fuck, moss rat?!"

The others began to wake up with panicked mutterings and Zoro scrambled onto his paws in a bid to get away from the hand on his stomach. In blind panic, rage, and embarrassment, Zoro lashed out.

He sunk his teeth into the bridge of Sanji's nose.


	4. Raccoon eyes

_**Prompt: From kellermarie who thought that where Sanji got bit, he should have two black eyes which look like the markings a raccoon has.**_

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Sanji grimaced as Chopper withdrew the needle from his skin and the little doctor sighed, "Sorry, Sanji, but you were bit. Even if it was by Zoro. Zoro is still an animal and can get all sorts of diseases which can pass to you if I don't give you a tetanus shot."

The cook nodded in understanding and shifted the ice pack that he held over the top half of his face. Chopper gently tapped his hand with a hoof, "Let me take another look, the bruising should start to be coming out now."

Sanji lifted the pack away and squinted at the little doctor. The flesh around both eyes were a deep set red, going purple at the edges, and the bridge of his nose was split by a jagged tear from one of Zoro's canines. Chopper hummed and lifted up a piece of gum paper with white strips on and brushed Sanji's fringe aside. He cleaned up the split with antiseptic and began to pull the strips off.

"These are stick on stitches. The bite isn't deep enough for surgical thread but it won't heal properly if it isn't joined together firmly during the recovery process. The swelling is going to be bad for a few days, but today it will be at its worst. I'm going to give you some anti inflammatories and I suggest you put a cold compress on every few hours to help it along. You should be fine though- you'll have a very fine scar for a while but it'll fade so don't worry about it. But get your ass straight back here if you feel sick, dizzy, or light headed at all."

"Thanks, Chopper." Sanji said, managing a small smile because, damn, did his cheeks hurt like hell. Zoro's jaw was a force to be reckoned with.

"Shaddup! Your compliments don't make me happy you bastard!"

Sanji huffed fondly, set the ice pack down, and as soon as Chopper finished sticking the stitches down, he left to make breakfast.

He'd get that shitty marimo rat later. Mark his words.

The minute he stepped outside though, his patience snapped.

"Shishishi! Sanji looks like he has raccoon eyes!"

Luffy smacked into the mast from the sheer force of the kick he unleashed and when he heard the high pitched shriek of a shitty mossy otter rat in pain too, the cook smiled viciously.

Two birds with one stone, after all.


	5. A warning from an otter

**_Prompt: From usernamesrus who told me the very interesting fact that otters bang their tails on watery surfaces to warn others of danger and wanted to know how the crew would react._**

**_Friendly reminder that prompts are so very much welcome! Make them as ridiculous/cool/Iimaginative etc as you want!_**

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The scream that came from the shower room that morning rang throughout the whole ship and shook the water around them. The crew burst out of rooms and jumped up from where they sat in a haste as the shower door banged open and an enraged Nami came storming out dripping wet and haphazardly covered with a towel.

"I don't know how he got in but he fucking did!" She yelled.

Luffy laughed, remarking how Nami looked like the sea witch Zoro always called her and Sanji kicked him upside the head before turning to her, bruise framed eyes looking up to her in adoration, "Nami, my darling, what's wrong?"

"Get him out, get him fucking OUT!" Nami screeched, pointing furiously at the open door with the steam coiling out.

"HIM?!" Sanji yelled, "Is that perverted skeleton in there?!"

"Eh, Sanji-san, I'm here," Brook piped up, waving slightly, "In fact, we're all here... except for Zoro..."

Robin chuckled, "Oh my..."

"THE MARIMO?!" Sanji shouted.

"He got in. I don't know how he did, but he got in and started freaking out." Nami hissed between gritted teeth, "I want him out. I want him out right now..."

"I'm on it, Nami-swaan! I will save you from that perverted moss rat!" Sanji swooned.

Nami turned on him, "You better, and if you look down at my chest again, I'm going to start charging 500% interest."

Sanji averted his eyes, "Anything for you, Nami my love!"

Looking at the otter, Sanji had no idea what to make of it.

No idea.

Zoro wasn't acting perverted at all. Not a nosebleed in sight. Rather, he was flat on his back in a deep puddle and wriggling wildly as he slammed his tail into the water's surface repeatedly, making strange noises in succession.

Sanji frowned, "Oi, oi, shitface, get up..."

Zoro didn't listen.

"I said get up you shitty moss rat!"

Zoro cried out and smacked his tail down even harder, tipping his head back. It looked as though he were having a fit...

Wait.

Was Zoro fitting?

Sanji had never seen an animal have a fit before let alone seen an otter have one. For all he knew the marimo could be sick, really sick.

Zoro wailed out again and twisted and turned restlessly.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

He scrambled for the door, trying not to slip on the wet tiles, "Chopper! Chopper, I think he's fitting!"

"WAH!" Came the little doctor's frantic reply from above shocked gasps and murmurs of the others, "SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR!"

A mere moment later Chopper came crashing around the doorway and slid along the slick floor.

"Sanji, I-I need you to hold him still for me. He-" Chopper paused as he took in the otter's thrashing limbs and frustrated squeaks, "Oh. Oh... Sanji, he's not fitting. It's okay."

"Wh-what?!" The blond exclaimed, "Then what's he doing?"

"He's... He's trying to warn us!" Chopper said, "Otters strike their tails on water surfaces to alert the others to danger. Zoro! Zoro, you have to calm down! What's wrong?" The little doctor took a firm but gentle hold of Zoro's long body and stroked his free hoof down the otter's stomach firmly. To Sanji's surprise Zoro began to calm rather than tear Chopper's face off, but Zoro had always shown a softer side to the reindeer. Satisfied, Chopper asked him what was wrong again and Zoro responded in chirps and squeaks.

The doctor looked at Sanji seriously, "We have to tell the others that Marines are coming."


	6. Why Luffy shouldn't be allowed near Zoro

The Marines had been small fry in comparison to ones they'd faced before and although they were one main fighter down, they'd managed to handle themselves very well. Though Zoro had been locked in the Infirmary for his own safety, it hadn't stopped the once swordsman from throwing himself at the wooden door furiously with all he'd got and remained restless until he was released from his prison and had checked every last crew member over by scurrying over and around them. Satisfied no one was injured, Zoro clambered up onto the side railing of the Sunny, claws scrabbling frantically as he hauled his body up after him, and lay out flat, letting the patch of sunlight he was in warm him up and he closed his one eye and settled for a nap.

He'd managed a good 20 minutes of sleep before he was snatched off the side by a pair of rubbery hands. He squeaked angrily at having been disturbed and wriggled in Luffy's arms until he broke free and climbed over the captain's shoulder and down his back, dropping to the grassy deck and snorting irritably.

"Luffy, watch what you're doing..." Nami called from her sun lounger before looking back at her map.

"Zoro!" Luffy laughed, "Zoro come play tag!"

Zoro threw him a look and stumbled off down the grass.

"Oiiiiii! Zoroooooo! Come baaack!" Luffy whined, running after the otter with his arms outstretched.

Everything happened in slow motion.

Luffy's foot snagged in his sandal. He tripped. Fell forward. Cried out. Zoro turned. Froze. And watched.

Watched as Luffy came crashing down on him in a bundle of pain multiple times the size of him.

Luffy hastily pushed himself up onto his hands the moment he regained orientation. He looked at his Nakama beneath him.

He swallowed, "Z-Zoro..?"


	7. Squished otter

"Woa, Luffy bro. Is he dead?" Franky asked, looking worried as he joined the captain in staring down at the very limp looking otter.

Luffy laughed, "Nah, he's not dead! I didn't give him permission to die. You can only die if the captain says so!"

Franky frowned, "I don't think that's how it works, Luffy..."

"Oh my god, you killed him!" Usopp cried, "This isn't funny, Luffy!"

"He's not dead!" Luffy said.

"He's not moving, moron!"

"He's fine, he's just sleeping."

"Oi, bastards, it's time for lunch. I've been shouting for-" Sanji halted as he took in the sight of Luffy, Usopp and Franky arguing whilst the marimo rat lay quite pathetically in a heap in the grass. He sighed heavily, "Luffy, what did you do?"

"It was an accident! Me and Zoro were playing and I tripped and fell on him..." Luffy said.

"More like you squished him..." Franky muttered.

Sanji shook his head slightly. He was on a ship full of idiots, "Well, is he alright?"

"He's sleeping!" Luffy replied.

"Let's just hope it's not the permanent kind..." Ussop murmured.

Hopping over the railing, the cook dropped down to the grass deck and walked over, "You guys go and eat. I'll take him to Chopper."

"Are you sure, Sanji?" Ussop asked.

"Yeah. I'll have mine later. I don't trust that idiot there not to actually kill him if he did this." The blond explained, tilting his head towards Luffy.

"Okay then."

The three left, leaving Sanji stood over the unconscious otter and he sighed as he bent down, gathering up the little animal in his arms. Zoro's long body was as limp and loose as a rag doll and if it wasn't Zoro in that body, Sanji would almost feel sorry for the poor thing.

He stood up, smoothing out a tuft of fur that had fluffed upwards with his fingers and made sure he had the moss rat in a secure grip. He may feel a little sorry for the poor otter, but if Zoro woke up and bit him again then the chef would not hesitate to toss him overboard.


	8. Stubborn moss rat

**HAREOO3 asked: This is so cute. But poor zori-kun. Dont worry chopper will make it all better. It would be cute if he hurt one of his little paw and sanji has to carry him around. :)**

**—**

"It's just twisted, Zoro. It's nothing to worry about." Chopper reassured the otter sat in front of him on his office desk atop a cushion. The reindeer had cut up some bandage and gauze into thin slivers and strips before pressing a cleaned lolly stick against Zoro's even more pudgy than usual front left leg now it was swollen and taping it down firmly to the injured limb and wrapping the bandage around, "This is just a temporary support, but try not to walk on it for a day and rest it."

Zoro chattered his teeth at him and Chopper frowned, "No. The bandage doesn't get to come off for two days."

Zoro wrinkled his nose.

Chopper picked up the cushion with the otter still on top and carried him out of the infirmary and placed him on the grass deck outside in a large patch of sun, "Some fresh air will do you good, Zoro. Don't you dare think about moving though."

Zoro flattened his ears and sighed deeply, settling down on the cushion with his injured paw held out away from him. Chopper nodded approvingly and left him to it, going back to the infirmary. Zoro wriggled a few times until he found a position comfortable enough and closed his one eye, intending to sleep of the dull aching throb in his leg.

Luffy came over at one point and sat next to him quietly. Zoro, disturbed from his sleep, looked up at him and lifted his head and the captain looked back at him. The rubber boy frowned, "I'm sorry, Zoro."

The little otter grunted in the back of his throat and pushed his head against Luffy's nearby hand to show his acceptance of the apology, not that he had anything against the boy, it had been an accident and accidents happen and it was Luffy afterall.

The captain smiled moved his fingers against the little tuft of green fur on the animal's head, continuing to pet him even when Zoro had put his head back down on the pillow. The otter tolerated it because it was Luffy's way of showing his still continuing apology and it felt pretty good when the other rubbed behind his ear.

When he woke up again it was to a darker environment and he realised that someone must've put him in the shade, also the fact that the cook was rounding up everyone for dinner had awoken him too and it wasn't long before Sanji's legs came into his direct view.

"C'mon, moss rat. Dinner," He said.

Zoro glared at him and sat up, pushing himself upright with his three good paws, and limped off the makeshift bed, hobbling on the grass as the pain flared up in his leg once more. He heard Sanji sigh and mutter something about being stubborn before he was suddenly grabbed around the stomach and lifted off the ground. He squeaked furiously at the manhandling and tried to fight against it but was stopped by both pain and confusion when Sanji settled him in his arms and began to carry him. Zoro gripped onto the sleeves with the stubby toes of his good front leg. He felt Sanji's huff at him through the chest he was pressed against.

"Stupid moss rat, you wouldn't have made it there by yourself."


	9. Cucumber Slices

Sanji had learnt a bit about what foods Zoro liked and disliked now that he was spending more time with him. The otter, since injuring his leg yesterday, had spent the majority of the time in the kitchen with the cook where he was able to keep out of trouble and out of the way of Luffy and any more accidents. Sanji had ran a bowl of lukewarm water and had put Zoro inside with a little plastic sandwich bag wrapped around his injured limb to keep the bandages and splint dry. Zoro had chirped happily and swished his tail around, sloshing water over and onto the sides, prompting the blond to put a towel down.

The marimo otter was currently resting in the water, head over the side of the bowl and his one eye watching Sanji as he cut up the vegetables for dinner. The cook looked at the little animal then back at the cucumber he was slicing. He picked a piece up.

"Do otters even eat cucumber?" He asked, directing it at Zoro even though he knew he wouldn't get a reply he could understand. Zoro moved in the bowl and chattered his teeth, making grunting noises until Sanji relented and passed him the slice.

Stubby toes clutched at his thumb, the fur there wet but warm, and tugged his hand closer until Zoro was able to get his teeth into the vegetable and hold it himself. Sanji watched as the once swordsman gnawed at it, taking chunks out and chewing quickly, his little cheeks puffing up, and smiled at the otter and laughed. Zoro stopped chewing momentarily to glare at him and flicked his tail up, splashing water up the cook's face and over his still two shockingly bruised eyes and nose. It was Sanji's turn to scowl and mutter, "Fucking mossrat."

He used the long skirt of his apron to dab the water away from his sensitive skin and when he pulled it away he saw the otter scrabbling to get out of the bowl, Zoro's belly preventing him from climbing over the rim. Sanji frowned, "What are you doing?"

Zoro made an awkward grunt and scrambled with his back legs, trying to find some purchase on the bowl's slippery sides. The cook sighed and hooked a hand under the animal, the length of the lithe body feeling strange to hold, and, despite Zoro's more than clear distaste at being picked up, lifted him over the bowl and onto the towel. The swordsman otter tottered a moment, trying to regain balance, and then plopped into a sit, his belly bunching up and coming over his back legs a little.

"You'd better keep your ass there, rat- I don't want you spreading your fleas everywhere." Sanji warned, washing his hands at the sink after handling his furry nakama. Zoro bared his front teeth, his whiskers pricking up. Sanji snorted, "Shut up."

He dried his hands off and returned to slicing and dicing, Zoro sitting off to the side further away from the chopping board and watching with some interest as the water dripped off his little ears and his nose. Sanji hummed to himself as he usually did when he cooked, enjoying the strange but entirely welcome atmosphere that had settled between them. Then he noticed the little otter shuffling closer.

"No." The cook said, giving Zoro a stern look.

The swordsman otter inched a little closer.

"Damn it, you shitty rat. No." Sanji snapped.

Zoro made a displeased sound in the back of his throat and turned around, scuttling off back to his towel and Sanji watched him a moment to make sure the little shit wasn't up to anything else to annoy him. Somehow, even in his otter body, Zoro was able to piss him off. Sanji had been whacked with that surprisingly painful tail, bit numerous times, and had his sleeves ripped and there was currently a shoe missing from his wardrobe that he had yet to find, but he had his suspicions on its whereabouts.

Suddenly his eyes caught movement and he spotted the marimo rat sat in front of him by the side of the chopping board with a look in his eye that the cook couldn't place. He narrowed his eyes, "What?"

Zoro lay down and Sanji couldn't help but be on edge because this was the shitty marimo who practically lived to annoy the hell out of him. So why was he suddenly behaving?

The otter place his head on top of his unwrapped leg and just stared expectantly. Sanji felt awkward under the animal's gaze and returned back to his chopping, determined to ignore Zoro and whatever it was he was planning to do, when he saw the way the other was looking with acute interest at the way his hands moved with the knife he was holding. Zoro's ears were pricked up and his tail slid side to side as he lay there in contentment, and Sanji realised that Zoro was watching him cook. The swordsman was actually taking an interest in something he was doing. He felt his ears flush hotly with the new attention on him, flattered and embarrassed at the same time. He pulled a face, "What're you looking at, shit face?"

Zoro chattered his teeth, squinting his eye and Sanji knew from one of Chopper's explanations on body language that that meant happiness and feeling relaxed. Sanji coughed awkwardly and picked up a piece of cucumber again, placing it in front of Zoro much to the otter's surprise, and looked to the side, "Shitty mossrat..."

Zoro bit into the slice and chirped.


	10. Cleaning Up

"ok since he's actually turning into an otter and having all their traits and shit.., have him clean out the aquarium of all shellfish.., every aingle clam, oyster, mussel, crab, and shrimp eaten.., and maybe even beat up one of the larger fish.., then Usopp is the one that needs to clean up Zoro's mess and even though Sanji has nothing to do with it, he still ends up getting the shit end of the stick..," - BrainDeadMaggot

* * *

The next day Zoro stopped hanging around in the kitchen though Sanji, strangely, missed his company; he'd grown accustomed to the little otter padding around and snoozing in an oddly short space of time. A few days after that and the mossrat was back to himself. The bandages and splint was gone and the swelling had decreased dramatically. The same could be said for Sanji's eyes, the sticky stitches now gone and the bruises fading back to his pale complexion. There was an angry red line across the bridge of his nose though and it was scabbed in places, but it was nowhere near as bad as before.

Nami had had a night of feeling unwell and was sleeping in her quarters, using the spare time she had now that they'd determined their course to catch up on the hours she had missed. Robin was watering the navigator's orange trees in her absence, and listening to Luffy babble on excitedly about one thing or another from his seat perched on an upturned plant pot. Brook and Sanji were sat on the steps with tea making idle chatter and Chopper was sat between them with a bottle of milk and a book with his notes on Zoro's condition in his lap. Franky was down in the engine of the Sunny, tinkering and changing and sketching up new plans and extensions. All of them were quite at peace except for Usopp who was complaining loudly.

"Zoro, what have you done?!" Came the cry, followed shortly after by a chatter of teeth and the little thumps of paws on the wooden deck.

Zoro's lithe body wriggled its way between Brook and Sanji, almost knocking the tea over, before he leapt onto Chopper's open book, causing the little doctor to laugh. Brook nodded, "Ah, Zoro, what have you done?"

Zoro fixed him with one dark eye and chittered. Chopper piped up, "He said he didn't do anything."

Sanji narrowed his eyes, "Bull. That shitty mossrat has done something." The cook pushed himself to his feet, setting down his cup, "I'll go see what the long nose is whining about."

A mess. The biggest mess Sanji had ever seen on the Sunny ever. The trap door to the aquarium was burst open, salty water sprayed across the deck, and tens of shells from shellfish were scattered everywhere hollowed out by something. Hollowed out by that shitty mossrat no doubt. He muttered to himself, "Holy shit..."

Suddenly Usopp emerged from the aquarium in a great upheaval of water and clambered out, shucking off the diving apparatus and catching his breath. Sanji folded his arms across his chest, "What the hell happened here, Usopp?"

The sniper took in another deep breath before replying, "I caught Zoro throwing empty mussel and oyster shells everywhere and he- he's eaten almost all of them!" He yelled.

Sanji found it a little hard to believe that Zoro could have eaten so much but from the amount of shells scattered across the deck, it seemed possible. A sudden anger flared in his stomach- how could Zoro do something so selfish? How dare he eat through more than his fair share of the ship's supply. But he grit his teeth and bore it, adding it to the list of things to beat the crap out of Zoro for when he turned back to his mossy human self. He sighed irritably and crouched down, scraping together some of the mess with his hand. He looked up at Usopp, an itch in the back of his throat that could only be satiated by the smoke of a cigarette, "Just... Get Luffy and go and catch some more."

"But..."

"I'll clean this up, just go."

"O-okay..." Usopp said hurriedly, running off to grab the captain and the nets.

Some way into his shoving the shells into a pile, Sanji heard the scurrying of little feet on the boards behind him which he instantly recognised. He made to turn around, "You little mossy shit, look what you done-"

He halted at the feeling of a sudden weight moving upwards on his back and scowled when Zoro's little furry face popped up over his shoulder with a curious squeak. Sanji snapped, "You know what you've done, you rat..."

Zoro chattered his teeth and was on the move again, clambering up Sanji's shoulder, up his neck, and onto his head, ruffling blond locks as he flopped over, jumping onto the deck in front of Sanji's lap. The cook watch with confusion as Zoro began nudging a shell with his little forehead across to the pile that had gathered and realised that the otter was helping him to tidy up. Zoro chirped at him.

Sanji huffed and picked up another shell whilst Zoro selected another to shunt to the pile. He blamed the cute fluff that was Zoro's face for the slight smile on his lips and the receding anger at the mossrat. He poked Zoro lightly in the side, "I'm still gonna kick your ass for this when Chopper fixes you."

He managed to move his hand out of the way of a playful swipe from Zoro's paw.


	11. Diving

Sanji dives into the ocean, and curiously Zoro follows (or vice versa) then they end up play a game of tag under the ship.., - prompt from braindeadmaggot

* * *

"Where am I looking?" Sanji asked, tugging a piece of his fringe away that had blown into his face.

Usopp leaned over the railing and pointed to a patch of sea beneath the boat where the net had visibly gone taut, "There," the sniper said, "A rock or something must've snagged it so dive a couple of meters away and swim your way over, it shouldn't be too deep."

"Watch out for the rocks, Sanji!" Chopper warned, "Don't hurt yourself!"

Sanji shucked off the jumper he was wearing and dithered slightly against the bite of the chilled breeze, "Gee, Chopper, I didn't think of that." He kicked off his shoes and wriggled out of his trousers, leaving him only in his boxers as he stepped up onto the railing of the Sunny, "Fuck, it's cold," he breathed.

Nami was watching the whole display curiously, moving her hand constantly to dodge the swipes from Zoro's paws, the little otter lying on his back on the railing beside her. She poked Zoro's stomach, earning a set of bared teeth to nearly snap her finger off if she hadn't of moved so quickly, "It's just the wind that's cool Sanji, the water should be considerably warm."

"Ah, Nami-swan is so clever!" Sanji cooed, "Oi! Mossrat! Don't you dare bite her or I'll kick your furry ass off this boat!"

"Oh, he won't," Nami assured him, "Or I'll raise his debt by another hundred percent. Besides, he's just playing- he's bored and everyone else is too busy. Now go fix the nets."

"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji hailed and took a deep breath, raising his arms up and jumping neatly off headfirst. When he emerged at the surface for air, he was surprised to find the water pleasantly warm even though Nami had said it would be. He shook the water from his eyes and surveyed the area to find where the net had caught. He located it and began swimming over when he heard a high pitched sound and a splash not too far from him, "Wha-?"

Zoro's head popped out of the water next to his arm, making him jump though Sanji would adamantly refuse to accept the little otter had caught him by surprise later on. His furry Nakama chirped happily and turned onto his back with his front paws crossed neatly over each other on his scarred chest. Sanji smirked, "You okay there, mossrat?"

Zoro grunted contentedly and his nose twitched. He looked up at Sanji expectantly with one brown eye and Sanji got the message from that look but didn't quite believe it. He blinked, "You want to help?"

The mossrat chittered in a high pitch and Sanji took that as agreement. He shrugged, "Come on then..."

They plunged together and almost immediately Sanji noticed the way Zoro's little otter body moved in the water and was in awe of it. The efficient, fluid movements were powerful and impressive and little silvery streams of bubbles escaped from his black nose every so often. He swam past Sanji with speed and grace and the blond found it captivating, in awe of nature's fantastic design.

Zoro was an efficient little worker in the water as well, quickly locking on to the net and plunging towards it, gripping it with his stubby fingers and pulling it to his mouth, savagely ripping it with his teeth. Sanji watched as the net broke free of the rock that held it captive and followed Zoro up to the surface, gasping for air. He felt Zoro scrabbling at his shoulders, scratching the skin slightly as he hauled himself up around Sanji's neck.

The blond frowned at him when the otter's curious face appeared next to him, snuffling, "What're you doing?"

Zoro chirruped in response and remained in his selected seat as the blond swam for the rope ladder being lowered for him. He climbed up and soon found a towel to dry himself off with, drying Zoro off however was proving to be a lost cause, the otter leaping over the towels and hands that grabbed for his lithe body. Sanji gave up after the fifth attempt when he'd finally grown tired of swearing blindly at the mossrat and sat on the grass deck exhausted but warm in his fresh change of clothes.

Suddenly a weight appeared on his lap and Sanji found himself looking down into the mischievous face of the Zoro otter.

"What're you- NO!" Sanji yelled when he noticed Zoro's stance and the way his long back was raised, water trapped in the fur. Sanji glared, "Don't you dare-"

Zoro dared.

The otter shook violently hard, water spraying up the cook's face and dry clothes, and the noise Sanji made was better compared to an enraged animal than to any human sound. Zoro chittered and rolled over in the blond's lap, smearing the water in for effect and shot off like a bullet out of a gun as Sanji charged after him, cursing and promising to skin the damn mossrat alive.

The otter chattered in what sounded like laughter.

"Shitty damn mossrat!"


	12. Wrestling

Okay I just found out that wrestling is something otters love to do, so maybe you could incorporate that into a chapter with the moss-rat? Love the fic, it's super cute! Prompt from twiligertumbling

* * *

Another thud on the deck as yet another nakama fell down with either a laugh or a shriek. Nami and Robin were tending to the orange trees and chuckling as the dark furry blur of Zoro's body shot across the deck and bowled over into Luffy and took the captain's legs out from under him and sent him tumbling to the grass.

Chopper had said that Zoro needed to be played with in his new body or else he'd get fat or ill. He needed to be active for at least an hour a day and who better to get a game going than Luffy? Robin had pointed out that in her numerous studies she had learnt that otters were fond of wrestling one another. She assured Usopp that though Zoro may be coming across as agressive, it was only play fighting that was not to be taken seriously.

The mossrat was practically having the time of his life, chittering excitedly as he scampered after the crew mates one by one. Bam! He knocked Brook down. Bam! Usopp was down. Bam! Chopper went tumbling. All three of them laughing hysterically.

Franky soon emerged from the lower part of the ship and Zoro wasted no time in trying to knock him over too. The cyborg looked curiously at the little otter gambolling into his legs over and over but to no effect. Once he realised what Zoro was doing, he faked falling over anyway much to the mossrat's delight and off he ran again, paws thumping on the wooden decking.

Sanji however, did not find it even remotely amusing when he opened the galley door to call for lunch and was greeted by a face full of otter.

He toppled backwards into the doorway, landing on his rear, and Zoro squeaked triumphantly as he neatly dropped from the cook's face and into his lap where he began his furious assault on Sanji's jacket buttons with his teeth, grunting repeatedly. The blond seemed to overcome his moment of being stunned and glared at the furious fur ball in his lap, grabbing Zoro by the scruff of his neck and lifting him up until he let go of the button he was gnawing and held him away at arm's length as he got to his feet. Just another thing he'd have to add to the 'Beat Zoro's Ass For Later' list he had going on mentally.

Zoro made a funny noise and Sanji saw the discomfort in his little angular face and eye. He sighed and held the mossrat properly in his arms, bringing him against his chest. Luffy was laughing, "He got you good, Sanji!"

The blond blinked. So Zoro had been playing? He hadn't just turned feral then? Sanji had just assumed the shitty rat was playing up to piss him off and began to feel a little guilty for having got the wrong end of the stick like that. Subconsciously, his free hand rubbed at where he'd grabbed Zoro roughly as some form of apology that he didn't realise he was giving. The otter chirped and Sanji moved his arms away as Zoro began to climb up his chest to perch on his shoulder. He smiled, "Yeah he got me. Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Lunch is ready!"

"Oh boy! Lunch!" Luffy bellowed but Sanji blocked him with a single held up leg.

"Ladies first, you manner less bastard," He said curtly, letting the hurricane of their captain through as the two women sat down and began to eat.

Zoro clicked his tongue, still sat on the cook's shoulder patiently. Sanji turned his head to look at him, "We'll play later... if you want..?" He asked awkwardly. He honestly never thought he'd have to say something like this to the mossball ever in his life. But Zoro chirped more than happily and Sanji passed him a cucumber slice from the chopping board which he devoured eagerly.

The blond was beginning to get concerned. Everyday Zoro was acting more like a pet- like an actual otter- compared to how he used to. He looked from his plate to his nakama on his shoulder and couldn't help but think that surely these actions couldn't be a good sign.


End file.
